Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/2 – 1/8/16

So remember last week when I was telling you all about the evil virus that has been haunting my house since Christmas? It has made its way through each member of my family? Yeah I had it this week. It is a lovely little virus that makes it feel as if your lungs are in a vice. I feel short of breath just walking to a different room. Ever had the urge to cough but you can’t? Story of my life right now. To make matters worse, my daughter came down with some type of stomach bug. We just can’t catch a break here. I am not sure what we did to deserve this, but I think we have suffered enough. Someone send us some good vibes that we can get healthy.

*Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogosphere, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, and what I will be reading next.

This week on the blog:

Tuesday 1/3

Wednesday 1/4

Friday 1/6

Bookish/Blog happenings:

I hit over 300 WordPress followers! I don’t obsess over stats like I used to, but it is still fun to celebrate these little milestones. When I first started blogging a little over 10 months ago, I thought having a big following was how you measured the success of a blog, but I now know that isn’t necessarily the case. Successful blogging is very subjective and is however you want to measure it. I have seen other blogs that have double or even triple the amount of followers that I have, but that don’t have as many views or visitors that I have had. What I value most of all is that I have very loyal blogger friends who regularly visit and interact with me on my blog. I consider this success!

The best part about reaching this milestone however was the overwhelming support I received on Twitter! When I posted that I had reached 300 WP followers, I never expected the amount of likes, RTs, replies, and messages congratulating me from my blogger friends. Thank you all so much. You all are good for my ego 🙂

I won a copy of Christodora by Tim Murphy from my friend Ann Marie who blogs over at @Lit·Wit·Wine·Dine. Huge shout out to her for hosting this giveaway!

Around the blogosphere:

*These posts are not necessarily from this past week, but this is when I read them

What have I been reading?

Recently finished reading:

That’s right, I am now officially part of the SoC club! I can hear so many of my blogger friends screaming “finally” at their computers right now. I can definitely see why this is such a beloved book. Like many of the popular YA series we’ve seen emerge (Think the Twilight series, Hunger Games, Divergent, etc), I think this book will appeal to so many different types of readers. I really enjoyed this cast of characters and the thrilling heist plot. The first half of the book was on the slower side, but once the group reached the prison the story really took off! I had a few tiny issues with the book, but nothing that hindered my enjoyment. I will definitely be continuing on with the series.

While there were brief glimpses of hope for this book, ultimately this was a flop for me. There were many times I was confused about what was going on. There were a few moments where I mouthed “What the f***?”. I will say this, if you have never struggled with your weight, this book will not appeal to you at all. Like the main character Elizabeth (Beth, Liz, Lizzie…) I was very overweight at one point in my life, then lost a substantial amount of weight. The transition was not as smooth and flawless as I thought it would be. There were many times I could relate to Elizabeth, which is why I picked this one up in the first place, but this book just didn’t feel coherent in any way.

After seeing the gorgeous cover and the odd title, I knew I had to pick this one up. What a beautiful little book set in 1970s Alaska. There is a lot going on here in only 240 pages. While I appreciate quick reads, I think the author could have gone more in depth here and even added another 100 pages to this book. Even tough I wanted more, what I did get was good!

Currently reading:

This book is pretty far outside my comfort zone and I am shocked at how much I am enjoying it. The first 60% of this book is almost like a psychological thriller. I cannot believe this is a true story. How terrifying! I am listening to this via audiobook, and I do not think I would be enjoying this as much if I was reading this in print form. There are some medical explanations and details that I think would be a little cumbersome in print form, but works very well in audiobook form. I am around 75% through this one.

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Published by Amanda @Cover2CoverMom

Amanda (Cover2CoverMom) is a 29 year-old who was born and bred in Ohio. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart and they have two children aged 10 and 3. She stays home with her kids, which is the best job she could have ever asked for. When she is not busy being a maid, cook, chauffeur, coach, personal assistant, teacher, and referee, she enjoys reading, photography, sports and fitness. To her, books are a way to escape the grind of day to day life. She loves to get swept away in a book that transports her to another time and place. Amanda's reading comfort zones are historical fiction and literary fiction, however she is actively trying to branch out and expand her literature horizons.
View all posts by Amanda @Cover2CoverMom

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40 thoughts on “Weekly Wrap-Up: 1/2 – 1/8/16”

Sorry to hear about you n your family being sick. Sending some good vibes pronto! Some good books you have going there. I read the first couple pages of Brain on Fire a while back n would love to get back to it. It seems like a good read.

I hope you all start feeling better! That was me New Years weekend 😦 It started that Friday and didn’t go away until this past Wednesday! I am so happy it’s gone now. Congratulations on over 300 followers! Woop, woop you go girl! I love your blog 🙂

Is this virus an Ohio thing?? I was sick starting xmas eve for a week except I couldn’t stop coughing…agh so frustrating. I hope your household gets healthy quick! Thanks so much for including me in your weekly wrap up!!:) I must have missed your post about 300 followers so congrats belatedly. That’s awesome. I agree that when I started blogging I assumed success was a lot of followers, however I had no idea that this wonderful blogging community existed and now I believe blogging success seems to be more than how many followers I have, rather how much engagement I’m getting as far as conversations and comments go from readers and authors alike. Also I have Six of Crows on my TBR…high up!!

Thank you! I think ((knock on wood)) we are finally on the mend! I really enjoyed Brain on Fire. I agree, it was absolutely fascinating! It is terrifying to think of all the people who have been misdiagnosed throughout history!

Sorry to hear you’re sick, hope you all feel better soon! I just managed to not catch my mom’s horrid cold. As soon as someone near me has a cold I stock up on zinc and thyme tea😁
Congrats 300 followers, that’s wonderful!🎉

Being sick is the absolute worst. Particularly when others are sick with you. I don’t have experience with sick kiddos, but I can imagine when you are sick with the person you must care for… well, it’s hard on you both. I hope you feel better ASAP!

There is so much I want to comment on here— Congrats on 300 followers! That’s a huge milestone. And I agree with you– everyone should measure the success of their blog differently, based on what is important to them. My success is measured on my own consistency. I enjoy the social interaction, but I write this blog for me. 🙂

Thanks for the shout out! That means a lot — particularly since both of those posts were incredibly time-consuming. I’m glad you found them worthwhile. I look forward to seeing what you do for your blogoversary. 🙂

I’m so sorry to hear about the illness business. Sadly, the virus lives and breathes in CT too. My kids are both home sick today. 😦

Thanks for the shout and and congratulations on winning Christodora!

Three hundred followers! That is awesome!! I totally agree with your thoughts on what determines the success of a blog. When I started blogging, I had no idea how many friends I would make along the way. I have learned so much about the publishing world, the difficulties authors face, etc., and I consider all those learning opportunities a big bonus.

CONGATS on 300 AMANDA! I know i said it before but you deserve all the likes! 💕Thank you for featuring me in your weekly re-cap☺️ i’m also very happy to have you as a new fellow SOC lover HAHA! i’m curious, who was your fave character? I always have a tough time answering this 😂😂😂

Thanks for the shout out, Amanda! That means a lot to me. 🙂 You’re coming up on your blogoversary too– have you thought about what you will be posting about? I’m so excited to read that post. 🙂 Also: CONGRATS! 300 followers is a huge deal! I am super impressed and very proud to call you my blogging buddy.

Anytime 🙂 I have not decided what I am going to do for my blogiversary. I did have a giveaway planned, but I have had to rethink it. I was planning on giving away a signed copy of Veronica Roth’s new book, Carve the Mark, but that was before it started getting called out as being problematic. I had agreed to attend her book event with a friend ad had purchased tickets to go, then it started getting flagged. So now I have this book and don’t know what to do with it lol I guess I will have to come up with a plan B…

Honestly, I wrote off Veronica Roth after I read the first page of Allegiant. I think she had a great first book, and that was about it. So, I have more or less ignored everything coming out about Carve the Mark. I’m not surprised it’s being called out as problematic, sadly. Again– why I avoid hyped books.

Good luck figuring out what you want to do! I know whatever it is, I will love it. 🙂 (And my opinion is obviously the only one which matters ;p )

Well I agreed to go to the event with a friend so I had to buy a ticket and we all received a signed copy. I just figured I do a giveaway for it since I didn’t have any desire to actually read it. I liked Divergent, but did not care for the other two books at all.

Guess what? That virus thingy you said you had, where your lungs feel like they’re in a vise and you wanna cough but you can’t? Yeah, that. It’s made its way to my household now! 🤧🤒So I know exactly how you feel and I hope you and your family get over it soon, if you haven’t already. It’s terrible. On to bookish and bloggish stuffs… congratulations in both your giveaway win AND your 300+ followers! That’s awesome, Amanda! You deserve each and every one, plus a trillion more, in my opinion. Your blog is literally one of my faves out there in the entire blogosphere! Although in my eyes you are already so successful as a blogger, I still wish you more and more success!! Glad you read and enjoyed both Six of Crows and The Smell of Other People’s Houses. I’m debating reading The Nix by Natahn Hill or A Gentleman in Moscow right now… I read the sample of The Nix and so far, it’s pretty darn interesting. We’ll see how it goes, though. Looking forward to your review on Brain on Fire! It sounds so good!! I wasn’t aware that it was a true story though. Ok, enough of my babbling now… get well soon! And good luck with your reading 🙂

Oh no! We did finally get over that virus, but were hit with anther one. This one developed into a sinus infection for me. Of course I am allergic to all good antibiotics, so when I get sick, it takes FOREVER for me to get over it 😦 Thank you so much Megan! You are too sweet. I’ve been curious about A Gentleman in Moscow! I’ve seen pretty mixed reviews for it though…

I’m glad to hear that you’re over your sickness. I found out mine is the flu, and I have a fever of 101.2 so really I should be in bed right now because I am completely miserable. But anyway, you’re welcome! I have seen the mixed reviews for A Gentleman in Moscow too, but I read the sample and liked it. So I’ll probably try to read it next!